About Us

Who cares more about the safety of atrazine than the farmers who use it? After all, we raise our families on our farms—we drink the local water and swim and fish in local lakes, rivers, and ponds. No one cares more than we do about keeping our environment healthy and our foods safe.

But recently one of the tools we use, the herbicide atrazine, has been the subject of a lot of claims by people whose knowledge is, at best, questionable about the way agriculture works. Our group, the Triazine Network, is made up of farmers and farming groups who have been raising crops that have safely fed livestock and people for years, and who are concerned about issues regarding the regulation of atrazine one of the triazine herbicides. We raise crops as diverse as citrus, grapes, grain sorghum, nuts, field corn, vegetables, Christmas trees, and sugarcane, and we see first-hand the critical benefits of triazines, including atrazine, on every one.

The AgSense site will use the same kind of direct and simple language we use when we talk about atrazine in the fields, in our homes or at our local coffee shops. But make no mistake – we will also rely on years of credible, scientific research to back up the facts.

As we’ve long said, if the consensus of credible research shows more regulations are required of any chemical – whether we use it or not – safety comes first. The same can be said for atrazine. If the science really indicated it was unsafe to use, we wouldn’t use it. Because when it comes down to it, all we want is to raise our crops, protect our families and keep our land, rivers and animals healthy at the same time.

Facts About the Triazine Network

Who we are: The Triazine network is a coalition of individuals and groups involved in agriculture who are share a common goal: a science-based outcome to regulatory decisions regarding the triazine herbicides, atrazine and simazine.

In 1995, growers of crops as diverse as citrus, grapes, grain sorghum, nuts, corn, vegetables, Christmas trees, and sugarcane originally banded together to respond to the Special Review of triazine herbicides, atrazine and simazine, by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Our goal was to have a science-based outcome to the Special Review of the triazine herbicides. Today, the group has the same goal in new regulatory panels at EPA. The network is active in the series of atrazine science advisory panels (SAPS) being conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Leadership: Volunteering to lead the network are: Jere White, chairman, Kansas Corn Growers and Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Associations; Dan Botts, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association; Joel Nelsen, California Citrus Mutual, Stephanie Whalen, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, and Gary Marshall, Missouri Corn Growers Association.

Purpose: The Triazine Network strives to keep the beneficial triazine herbicides available in the United States. Many commodity and general farm organizations rely on the network to keep them informed about regulatory processes related to the triazine herbicides. The network also provides information on the economic and environmental benefits of these important crop chemicals to regulators, lawmakers and the media.

Organizations involved in the founding
and operation of the Triazine Network:

American Agri-Women
American Assn. of Nurserymen
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Soybean Assn.
California Citrus Mutual
California Grape & Tree Fruit League
Cherry Marketing Institute
Colorado Corn Growers Assn.
Florida Fruit & Vegetable Assn.
Hawaii Sugar Planters’ Assn.
Illinois Farm Bureau
International Apple Institute
Iowa Farm Bureau
Kansas Corn Growers Assn.
Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Assn.
Kentucky Corn Growers Assn.
Michigan Farm Bureau
Missouri Corn Growers Assn.
National Corn Growers Assn.
National Sorghum Producers
Nebraska Corn Growers Assn.
Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board
Nebraska Grain Sorghum Producers Assn.
Northwest Horticultural Council
Oregonians for Food and Shelter
South Dakota Corn Growers Assn.
Texas Citrus Mutual
Texas Farm Bureau
Western Growers Association
Partial listing